NAACP calls for arrest of cops in beating

Daniel Tepfer and Michael P. Mayko

Updated 1:39 pm, Tuesday, January 29, 2013

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Photo: Contributed Photo

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013,...

A screen grab from a video, posted on YouTube on Jan. 6, 2013, showing three Bridgeport, Conn. police officers kicking a man in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins were put on the paid administrative leave Jan.18, 2013 pending an investigation of the incident by the cityâÄôs Office of Internal Affairs. The man, who has not been identified, is lying on the ground after being Tasered by one of the officers when two of the officers begin kicking him. A third officer then gets out of his patrol car and walks over to where the other two are still kicking the man and then he too begins kicking him.

Just days after a video of a vicious beating by Bridgeport police drew 80,000 viewers on YouTube, NAACP leaders are calling for the arrest and firing of the three cops involved, while lawyers for the apparent victim filed a $1 million lawsuit.

Esdaile said he has watched the video and sees "a black man, a white man and a Hispanic man" repeatedly stomp and kick a man giving no resistance.

"These three men should be treated like common thugs because that's what they are: Thugs," Esdaile said.

Two of the three cops have previously been accused in lawsuits and complaints of beating people in custody, but have no record of being disciplined by the Police Department.

"I have clients telling me all the time that they have been beaten by police officers," said attorney Sam Kretzmer, who represents the alleged victim in this case, Orlando Lopez-Soto. "But I tell them there is not much that can be done because it's their word against the cop. But now we have a video, and a video doesn't lie."

Kretzmer said her client's family only recently learned about the video, which was taken with a cellphone camera from about 50 feet away in Beardsley Park.

On the video, recorded May 20, 2011, Lopez-Soto, 27, is seen running from the right side of the frame when there is the electrical sound of a stun gun. Lopez-Soto falls face down in the grass and officers Joseph Lawlor and Elson Morales run up to him and begin kicking and stomping on him.

Officer Clive Higgins then pulls up in his patrol car, gets out, and leaning on Morales for support, also begins kicking Lopez-Soto.

"As mayor, I cannot comment on pending litigation or matters under investigation, lest it prejudice the findings," Finch said. "Suffice it to say, I am extremely concerned by what I saw in the video."

The three officers, all 10-year veterans, have been placed on paid administrative duty pending the investigation.

"I had a productive and frank conversation with the NAACP," Gaudett said after a meeting Friday with representatives from the group. "I assured them that a timely, thorough and fair investigation will be conducted. At the same time, it is imperative to provide investigators the time to do their work."

Lopez-Soto was taken to the hospital after the incident, but only for being shot twice with the electric stun gun, according to the police report. There is no mention in the report of the kicking and stomping by the officers.

"My brother was injured by those police officers and we want them removed from the Police Department and made to pay the same price as any criminal," said Lopez-Soto's brother, Johnnie Lopez. "The police should not be allowed to do this to anybody."

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court here, says Lopez-Soto was deprived of his constitutional rights by the cops, who used excessive force against him.

"While the plaintiff was lying face-down on the ground motionless, the defendants forcefully kicked the plaintiff over a dozen times, upon various parts of the body, including his head, and stomped on his back," the lawsuit states.

Lawlor and Morales had been riding in their patrol car shortly after 5 p.m. on May 20 when they saw a red van with tinted windows traveling eastbound on Shelton Street, the police report states. They activated their lights in an attempt to pull over the van when it instead drove off at high speed, the report said.

They pursued the van through the city's East Side, where they said it nearly struck several cars and blew out two tires during the chase. The van then drove into Beardsley Park, where it eventually became stuck in high grass.

Lopez-Soto leaped from the driver's door of the van, jumped on the hood of the police car and ran, the report said.

"Myself and Officer Morales gave chase on foot and yelled to Lopez-Soto to stop or he would be Tased, but he continued running," Lawlor said in his report. "Fearing that he might have a gun, Officer Morales deployed his department-issued Taser and fired one shot at Lopez-Soto, striking him in the back. He immediately stopped running and fell face-first to the ground."

Lawlor said he grabbed Lopez-Soto's right arm and attempted to place it behind his back, but Lopez-Soto struggled with him, trying to get off the ground. Morales then used a stun gun on Lopez-Soto again.

Lawlor states he then handcuffed Lopez-Soto, who had a gun holster on his belt. The officers stated they then searched the van and found a loaded handgun on the floor, along with plastic bags containing suspected drugs.

Lopez-Soto was charged with engaging police in a pursuit, criminal possession of a firearm, theft of a firearm, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of narcotics and interfering with an officer, among other charges. On July 6, he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics with intent to sell and failure to appear in court, and was sentenced to five years in prison.

With "a fair and thorough investigation, nothing will come of the matter," said Morales' lawyer, Michael Fitzpatrick. "Officer Morales acted appropriately under the circumstances, and everything in the video is explainable. No law or regulation was broken."

Johnnie Lopez said that following his brother's arrest, the family consulted a lawyer, who he wouldn't name, to complain that Lopez-Soto was beaten by police. "But the lawyer told us we had no proof," he said.

But a few days ago, Kretzmer said Johnnie Lopez was approached at work by a man, whose name they won't reveal, who told him he had video of the incident.

"The man said he had been afraid to come forward earlier because he was worried the police would beat him too; but he couldn't live with this secret anymore. He had to do the right thing," she said.

Local lawyer Gary Mastronardi said he was shocked when he read in the Connecticut Post that Lawlor and Morales were two of the officers accused of kicking and stomping Lopez-Soto.

Mastronardi is representing a city man, William Feliciano, in a $3.5 million federal lawsuit against the city who claims he was kicked and severely beaten by officers, including Lawlor, following a chase Dec. 3, 2010.

"During my investigation of the case, I found two other complaints that had been brought against Officer Lawlor regarding the use of excessive force," Mastronardi said. "I planned to present these two additional cases during the trial in the Feliciano case, and now I have a third," he said, referring to the Lopez-Soto incident.

Lawlor's lawyer, John R. Gulash, declined comment.

Last May, video surfaced of 38-year-old Michael Stinson being pushed against a police car and then thrown to the ground by several officers including Morales. Stinson, who has an extensive criminal record, subsequently filed an excessive force complaint against the officers.

John DeCarlo, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven, and Branford's former police chief, said he believes the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI will investigate the incident.

"They are mandated to do so," DeCarlo said.

He also said it's important that police departments train their officers to deal with "excitation transfer" and the physiological rush that develops following a chase.

"If we train our officer over and over and over again in de-escalation techniques by stepping back and making them aware of the situation they are in, you remove the propensity from these types of incidents happening," he said.